Press



April! 23, 1935. vfw. PETERSON ET AL PRESS Filed June 6, 1929 /&

Patented Apr. 23, 1935 UNiTED STATES PRESS Victor- W. Peterson, Chicago, and Joseph E. Gregorich, Berwyn, Ill., assignors to Hannifin Manufacturing Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois.

Application June 6, 1929, Serial No. 368,983

3 Claims.

This invention relates to presses and aims to provide apparatus of improved controllability, capable of rapid and efficient operation.

The nature of theinvention may be readily understood by reference to one form of apparatus embodying the invention and illustrated in the accompanying drawing;

In said drawing:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section, more or less diagrammatic in character, of the actuating element and showing the direction of the forces set up during the operation.

The illustrative apparatus is here shown as vertically arranged and equipped with dies H] and H for either hotor coldrivet setting. The character of the dies obviously depends upon the character of press work to be performed by the press, and for that purpose the dies are made removable. The stationary die II is appropri ately mounted at the lower side of the jaw l2 in frame it, which may be supported by a base either in the vertical position shown or with the axis of the dies arranged horizontally. The movable die it is carried at the lower end of a die plunger M which operates within the housing l5, the latter in this case formed integrally with frame IS.

The plunger actuating element is here shown in the form of a reciprocating cam or wedge it having a cam surface I! with a contour designed to advance the plunger at the proper rates during the various portions of its active or operative travel. To reduce friction the upper end of the plunger M is provided with a roll l8 which engages the cam surface H. The reactive thrust set up during the advance of the element I6 is assumed by an anti-friction device in the form of rollers it (two in the present case) engaging the opposite surface 26 of the wedge 46 and carried in the housing 2! (in this case likewise cast integrally with the frame it) which encloses the element l6 and the upper portion of the plunger M. The upper surface 2% of the wedge is advantageously made as wide as possible--it-is here shown substantially wider than the cam surface It, see Fig. 2--so as better to distribute the pressure against the rolls i9.

Cam actuating mechanism is here shown in the form of a piston plunger 22 operating within cylinder 23 connected to the flanged portion 24 of the frame It. The piston 22 is actuated by an appropriate medium, air pressure in this instance, and is provided'with a control valve (not shown) for introducing the actuating medium on either side of the piston and for opening an exhaust port on the opposite side.

The cam surface ll is here formed with a leading portion 25 having a rather abrupt angle to the axis or direction of travel of the plunger l4 and designed to efiecta rapid initial movement thereof, and a portion 26 at a substantially less angle designed to effect the power movement of the plunger. For example, in upsetting a rivet, the cam surface 25 causes the die rapidly to approach and engage the rivet, this portionof themovement requiring relatively little power. The heading of the rivet requiring substantially greater power but little relative movement of the die, is effected by the surface 26. In the present case this surface is slightly curved, convex downwardly, thereby reducing the relative movement of the die H) as it approaches the end of its operation.

The return or separating movement of the plunger in the present case is advantageously effected by a spring 21 enclosed within housing 15 and surrounding a portion of the plunger l4 so as to raise the latter upon the retreat of the wedge I6.

The axis of the cylinder 23, i.'e., the direction of travel of the wedge I6, is advantageously arranged at an angle greater than 90 to the axis of the plunger It in order to place the point of contact 28 (see Fig. 3) of the cam surface 26 with the roller l8 during the power portion of the stroke approximately at the axis of the plunger I4, thus minimizing the component of force transverse to the plunger,this component being expended wholly in friction and reducing the efficiency of the apparatus. In the present case the inclination of the axis of cylinder 23 is made great enough to bring the point of contact 28 slightly beyond the axis 29 of the plunger to neutralize the transverse thrust caused by the friction or" the roll l8 under the lateral pressure of the wedge. In other words, the line of force transmitted by the wedge l6 to plunger Hi (during the power portion of the stroke) corresponds substantially to the line 30. The horizontal or transverse component (represented in amount and direction by the line 3!) is approximately equal to the transverse component, in the opposite direction, created by the friction of the roll l8 under the lateral thrust of the wedge, and, therefore, neutralizes such force. The resultant force, represented substantially in amount and direction by the line 29, lies approximately along the die stroke and the relative travel necessary for each. All moving parts of the apparatus likely by any chance to cause injury to workmen may be fully enclosed. The end of the wedge which on the forward portion of its stroke projects beyond the housing 25 is shielded by a removable cover 32. This cover may be readily removed to expose important parts of the actuating mechanism.

Obviously the invention is not limited to the details of construction of the illustrative mechanism since these may be variously modified. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all features of the invention be used conjointly, since they maybe employed in various diiferent combinations and sub-combinations.

Having described one embodiment of our invention, we claim:

1. A wedge press of the character described, comprising in combination, a reciprocating press plunger, a reciprocating wedge having a cam surface engaging said plunger for moving the latter longitudinally; and Wedge guiding means arranged to guide said wedge in a path at an angle greater than 90 relative to the line of plunger travel so that on the power stroke said Wedge moves transversely of said plunger slightly in the direction of the power stroke of said plunger, thereby engaging said plunger closely adjacent the line of the plunger axis.

2. A press of the character described, comprising in combination a press frame, a reciprocable press plunger operating in said frame, guiding means in said frame for guiding said plunger to reciprocate in a straight line, an anti-friction roller at one end of said plunger, a plunger actuating wedge engaging said roller, wedge reciprocating means arranged to cause said wedge to travel across said roller to advance the plunger on its power stroke, wedge guiding means, said wedge reciprocating and guiding means being carried by said frame at an angle to the plunger axis inclined in the direction of the power stroke of said plunger whereby to cause said wedge to engage said roller closely adjacent the axial line of the plunger tominimize the lateral thrust of said wedgeon said plunger, and anti-friction devices on said frame for engaging the opposite face of said wedge.

3. A press of the character described, comprising in combination a press frame, a reciprocable press plunger operating in said frame, guiding means in said frame for guiding said plunger to reciprocate in a straight line, a reciprocable wedge engaging said plunger to actuate the same on its power stroke, means for reciprocating said wedge transversely of said plunger to advance the plunger on its power stroke, wedge guiding means, said wedge reciprocating and guiding means being carried by said frame and inclined toward the plunger axis in the direction of the power stroke of the plunger to cause said Wedge to engage said plunger at a point beyond the line of the plunger axis in the direction of the power stroke of said wedge to provide a component of force transversely of said plunger counterbalancing the opposite frictional thrust of said wedge on said plunger.

VICTOR W. PETERSON. JOSEPH E. GREGORICH. 

